


Camp Larkin

by fairiesandtea



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Summer Camp AU, THIS IS THE LONGESt LIST OF CHARACTERS EVER, anyway this is going to be gay, camp larkin get it', davey hates nature, everything in this is a bird pun, jack wants to fuck a tree, tags might be added as i go on??, they still spell crutchie wrong on ao3
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-10-23 02:38:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10710435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fairiesandtea/pseuds/fairiesandtea
Summary: Davey didn't want to spend his summer outdoors, but somehow he was here. Outdoors. All summer.





	1. chp 1: in which the jacobs siblings go up a mountain

Davey had never liked the outdoors. His summers were spent inside, ignoring the rest of the world, and consuming too much Harry Potter and current world events. He wasn’t particularly good at physical ed, since any strain past lugging a forty pound backpack around school was too much for him. He didn’t like flowers, or trees, or lakes, ponds, bushes, hikes, sports, or anything that could bite him and draw blood. (Not including Les, who had proved worthy of the title many times.) So the fact that he was currently in the passenger seat of Sarah’s car, listening to bad top 40’s music and making their way up a  _ mountain  _ was still beyond him. 

  


“Lighten up, David. You got the job!” Sarah momentarily took her eyes off the road to tousle Davey’s hair, from which he wormed his way out of. He slumped even farther down the seat, making it very clear that he would continue pouting. She rolled her eyes and put both hands back on the steering wheel. Ten and two, just like their parents had drilled them for years. “Look. You get to write and nerd out all summer. Isn’t this like, your dream job? Shouldn’t you be nutting or something?” 

  


He let out a short puff of air. “Don’t be gross, Sarah. I don’t nut at everything I get excited by.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Davey regretted it. 

  


“Then what do you get ‘excited’ by, dear brother? I haven’t seen a girl around in a long while.” She paused a second before continuing. “Never, actually.” 

  


“This is getting weird. Topic change please?” Sarah pursed her lips, rolling her eyes. 

  


“Let’s talk about the fact that you just got your dream job and you also look vaguely suicidal.” Davey shut his eyes hard, letting the tinny voice of Justin Bieber (Possibly? They all sounded similar to him.) overwhelm him. 

  


He opened them once the light exposure changed, finding them driving in a brightly lit tunnel. “My dream job has nothing to do with blood-sucking insects and ten thousand new ways to die.” 

  


Sarah rolled her eyes for what  _ seemed  _ like the ten thousandth time. “You always get hung up over the mosquitoes, David. Plus, there aren’t any new ways to die besides drowning or eating poisonous berries, and you can’t drown on the best lifeguard in world’s watch!” Davey ruffled his eyebrows together. 

  


“What about the other guy?” 

  


“Anthony? If he got the job, he must have some skills. Plus, I heard he’s been going here for years, before he was an instructor.” Sarah wiggled her eyebrows, as if this would change Davey’s mind.

  


Their car passed out of the tunnel, flooding them with light once again. “How have you heard anything about this camp? We don’t know anyone, and I didn’t know of this place until three weeks ago.” Davey asked incredulously. 

  


Sarah laughed. “I’m a teenaged girl, David. Stalking on social media is in my blood.” After she finished her sentence, the car made a turn and the sibling pair found themselves in a half-full parking lot, with a boy holding a sign that read: **Employee Sign-Ins Here!** Davey also took note of the boy next to him, clearly speaking with the poster boy but also scribbling madly on a clipboard. Sarah pulled into a parking spot and put the car in park slowly, and stopped the car altogether. Suddenly, she turned and grabbed Davey’s cheeks like their mother did as she was punishing them when they were younger. 

  


“David Maureen Jacobs.” Davey tried to squirm away. 

  


“My middle name isn’t Maureen, I’ve told you-” 

  


The grip on his cheeks tightened, and he winced. “ _ Bubala _ . You will have fun this summer, and you will learn. Try and smile every once and awhile, and I think you’ll do great. Yes?” The grip remained iron-tight, and he just sighed. “Nod your head yes if you want me to let go, Davey.” 

  


He managed to look slightly peeved instead of moderately disturbed as he nodded, but Sarah let go as he massaged his face. “Can you even call me Bubala? That’s like, a mom thing.” 

  


Sarah turned back at him one last time before getting out of the car. “I can do whatever the hell I want to keep you here, mom’s permission.” With that, she slammed the car door shut. 

  


_ Except say hell at a children’s summer camp,  _ he thought as he stepped into the sun. 


	2. chp 2 - his name is crutchie???

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> davey and sarah meet crutchie, mush, and medda and davey is still awkward

 

As they lugged their bags out of the car, one of the boy’s pealing laughter filled the otherwise quiet area. Davey let out another small sighed, and Sarah shot him a warning look. He nodded, and they made their way over to the boys holding up the sign. The boy on crutches immediately noticed them, and shot them a grin a mile wide. “Hiya! I’m Crutchie!” 

 

Davey and Sarah shot each other a look, and Crutchie laughed again. He leaned over as if he was going to tell them a secret. “My real name’s Andrew, but don’t tell any kids that.” Sarah let a small ‘Oh.’ escape. Davey nodded quickly. The boy writing on the clipboard didn’t look up, his pen incessantly scratching away at the paper. 

 

There was an small and awkward silence until Sarah cleared her throat. “Well, my name’s Sarah and this is my brother, Davey. We don’t quite have nicknames yet.” 

 

“I’s only got one since I’ve been coming here as long as I can remember. Crutchie just… stuck!” The silence fell over them once again, and the boy still didn’t seem to know that he was the only one who hadn’t introduced himself. Crutchie nudged his arm a bit, causing his pen to slide across the paper. Davey winced, knowing the heartbreak that one felt when a perfectly good essay was ruined by a jostled elbow. 

 

The boy’s head shot up, squinting against the sunlight. “You’ll have to excuse Mush,” apologized Crutchie. “He’s real busy this tima year. He’s Medda Larkin’s assistant, and also the reason this camp hasn’t gone under by now.” The aforementioned Mush smiled, and waved quickly. 

 

“Hi. I’m Mush, and I’m just swamped right now. Real name’s Nicholas. Excited to get to know ya!” Sarah waved, and Crutchie pointed to a path leading down behind him. 

 

“You’re going to follow this down until you reach the big group of people. There’s the sign-in, and you can meet all of ‘em!” Sarah and Davey thanked Crutchie for the directions and started down the path, and both fell quiet. 

 

Davey, as much as he truly didn’t like being outside, admired the old oaks that lined the path. They seemed to be so strong and tall, a major difference from anything that stood tall in New York. Most buildings looked like they were ready to fall at any minute, while these trees seemed so stable. He had the sudden urge to run up and hug one, which he fought with a shake of his head and a sobering up because he suddenly saw a group of people milling around in an open area. “Here we go,” whispered Sarah. 

 

They stepped into the clearing, and Davey noticed two things: They were standing next to what looked like a fully functional coffee shop, and the woman in the large pink dress, coming at them with alarming speed. Before he could be relieved to notice he wouldn’t be cut off from caffeine all summer, both him and Sarah were swept into a large hug. Uncomfortably close, he heard Sarah let out a small laugh, which made him giggle as well. He was glad he had his sister there, because doing this on his own would not have been possible. The woman released them, and got a good look at their two faces. “Well now, these must be our two newcomers! Sarah and David Jacobs, am I right?” 

 

Sarah nodded. “Yes ma’am.” 

 

The woman let out a full, hearty laugh, one that seemed to take up all the space around them. “They’ll be no ‘ma’am-ing’ me this summer! I’m Medda Larkin!” Davey’s lips parted in a small ‘o,’ recognizing the name as the woman who hired them. 

 

She ushered them over to a table, where there was a sign-in sheet. “Go ahead, sign-in and make yourselves comfortable! Nobody bites. Well, maybe Sean,” She nodded in the direction of a slightly grumpy looking boy leaning on a post, “But he usually warms up once Anthony shows.” She laughed again, the big belly laugh. Both he and Sarah had no clue what she was talking about, but nodded and let her carry on. “Bunking assignments will be handed out at the opening speeches, unless you are a camper counselor, which,” She stopped to peer at them once again, “I don’t think either of you are.” 

 

“Nope!” Sarah said, popping the ‘p’ sound. 

 

Medda clapped, and started to walk away. “Have a grand time, my darlings!” 

 

Davey took a deep breath, and faced the crowd of people he didn’t know, and was expected to spend the summer with. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought. 


	3. chp 3 - blink looooves mush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it got really gay really fast

The main group was focused around the fire pit placed in the middle of the square, where a group of boys were each holding a hand of cards. A girl stood outside the group talking to a boy with an eye-patch, rolling her eyes and popping her gum. Every once and while, a large “Oh!” would erupt from the group and it would go back to slightly tense silence. Sarah zeroed in on the girl, walking toward her. Davey dragged his foot slightly before hesitantly following her. 

 

“Hi!” Sarah smiled brightly. “I was wondering if you knew when orientation is going to start?” The girl looked her up and down for a second, before splitting into a warm grin. 

 

“We’ll probably start in about fifteen minutes, we’re still waiting on a couple people,” She looked around at the group of boys, tallying them up in her head. “Two of them, actually.” She peered behind Sarah, and shot Davey a quick smile. “I don’t think I caught your guy’s name?” 

 

Sarah flipped her hair behind her shoulder, and Davey suddenly realized what was happening. He sighed and let his shoulders sag as Sarah said her name and what she would be working as all summer. Of course Sarah had taken a liking to the one other girl at camp who seemed smart, powerful, and everything else Sarah was. 

 

“David?” Sarah asked, nudging his arm and pulling him out of his thoughts. 

 

He shook his head and cleared his throat. “David,” he stuck out his hand. “I’m the newspaper staff and creative writing counselor.” The girl widened her eyes for a second and smiled slowly. 

 

“Kath.” She said, taking his hand and shaking it with the rigor he expected from a girl like her. “Though you should call me Ace in front of the kids. I’m the theatre counselor.” Davey smiled awkwardly. 

 

“Why did you look at me like that when I said I’ll be running the newspaper?” He spat out. Sarah scoffed, elbowing him for being rude. 

 

Kath laughed, trying to seem casual as she touched Sarah’s arm. “It’s nothing bad! It’s just that… the newspaper kids are a small and elite group. Not many campers want to spend their days inside, using our old printing press.”

 

This caught Davey’s attention. “A printing press? Like, a real one?” Kath nodded her head, and Davey fell back into the daydream he was in before. A real printing press. Davey had been interested in journalism and writing ever since he could remember. There was home film following Davey toddling around the house with a learning pencil and a piece of paper clenched in his fists, blathering on about things only he understood. In the third grade, he had won a creative writing contest that spurred him on to begin his first great novel, which was abandoned for the Harry Potter books four days later. Ten years later, Davey had finished high school with an A in his AP Literature class and an acceptance letter to Columbia University, where he would be surrounded by people just like him. He had never had the opportunity to try a printing press, and he was already fascinated. When he came out of the trance, Kath had pulled Sarah away and they were talking over by the coffee shop. 

 

He sighed, knowing his only option was to go talk to the group of boys playing cards. Davey slowly started to make his way over to them, but the loud blowing of a whistle saved him. His head snapped up to focus on two boys, dressed in matching t-shirts and khaki pants. 

 

“Alright, dipweeds. Head over to the Dove House, where we’re gonna start orientation. Five minutes.” Davey raised his eyebrows at the rude announcement, but looked at the map pasted on the side of the coffee shop. He started walking in the direction it pointed them in, before another voice broke through the quiet chatter. 

 

“Who let the rats be in charge this year?” A boy called out, and chuckles were let out by the other boys. Medda came out of the building next to the coffee shop, and raised her hand, quieting the laughter. 

 

“While I’d appreciate you not calling Oscar and Morris rats, Mr. DeJesus, I’d also love to refrain from calling your fellow counselors ‘dipweeds,’ Mr. Delancy.” She shot the boy who had made the rat comment a look, where he ducked his head in embarrassment. “Now, please head up to the Dove House! We’re still waiting on,” She scanned the crowd and frowned. “Jack and Anthony, but they know everything anyways.” As Davey walked with the crowd of people, he heard bits of conversation. 

 

“They’re always late.” 

 

“Dude, Jack graduated  _ yesterday _ . He was probably packing when Tony pulled up.” 

 

“Jack graduated? What a feat!”

 

“The bigger question begs, how did Nico finish high school still single?” 

 

After that comment, someone got pushed over by the boy who had made the ‘rat’ comment. There was some slight roughhousing, but he finally realized they were in front of what could only be described as a cabin meant to hold five hundred people. They all crowded into a small lobby with a foldable table and began to look at the multitude of papers before heading into the main area. Davey was one of the last ones to see everything, alongside the boy with the eyepatch. He looked at up at Davey and smiled quickly before turning back. Davey nodded slightly, but began reading the first clipboard. ‘Cabin Assignments. Cabin A: All boys. Cabin B: All girls.’ 

 

He cocked his head slightly, confused. “Did… Did I read this right?” The boy glanced at the form, and chuckled. 

 

“Yep. The boy’s cabin holds almost all of the recreational staff, because it’s huge. Used to be the original meeting hall, then this one is built. The girl’s cabin is normal, but it was built in a weird and secluded area, so it can’t be used for campers.” The kid nodded and looked at Davey again, realizing that he didn’t know him. “Who’re you?”

 

Davey awkwardly held out his hand, and the kid took it. “David. Jacobs.” 

 

“I’m Blink. Well, my actual name is Andy, but I’m trying to break back into my camp nickname.” Davey widened his eyes incredulously, and Blink laughed again. “And no, it’s not because of my eyepatch. The only one like that is Crutchie. And we’re pretty sure he gave it to himself.” 

 

Davey nodded, clearing his throat. He stood awkwardly for a moment until Blink laughed for the third time, making Davey incredibly self-conscious. “You don’t get around much, do you?” 

 

Rolling his eyes, Davey scoffed. “How can you say-” He stopped once he saw Blink giving him a pointed look, and let his shoulders sag. “Is it that obvious?” 

 

Blink smiled and nodded, clapping Davey on the shoulder. “We’re going to make you some friends, David.” 

 

“Well, I’ve already met some people-” Blink stopped and raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Who?”

 

“Um… Crutchie, and Kath- Ace, Medda… Mush,” Davey tried to rack his brains for other names before Blink cut him off.   _ Again _ . 

 

“Mush?” He asked, brightening a small bit. “I love him!” 

 

Davey laughed slightly but stopped once Blink kept smiling. “Oh. You like, really-?”

 

The smile suddenly vanished from his face, replaced with a very serious look. “He’s my boyfriend. Got a problem with that?”

 

Davey started to sputter, taken aback. “W-What? No! I don’t- I wouldn’t- My sister and so many of my friends are- Homophobes are gross!” Blink visibly relaxed, shoulders sagging. 

 

“Good. Because the rats are homophobic, and that about as much hate as we can handle here. We’re all pretty much on the spectrum here.” Blink said casually, turning back to the papers. 

 

“I assumed so,” Davey answered, “When the website said this camp was LGBTQA+ friendly. Which seemed like a strange thing to put on a camp website.” 

 

Blink nodded, not looking up. “Yeah. It’s cause a lot of the kids that come here are kids that Medda helps during the school year, and they get a lot of shit at home.” 

 

“Oh.” Davey spoke quietly. They sat in silence for a second until the cabin door slammed open and two boys walked in. 

 

Davey was pretty sure that his jaw literally dropped when he looked up and laid eyes on the boy with the muscle tee and khaki pants. This boy had a jawline that could cut him into pieces, the most beautiful golden-brown eyes Davey had ever seen, and arms that seemed to have more muscle than what was in his entire body. Overall, this boy could probably get Davey into bed. Which was a major twist in Davey’s summer plans. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> sarah said nutting because i felt like it was right. 
> 
> cross-posted to my tumblr! check me out: @deafwestnewsies :)


End file.
